St Mary in Window 3 St Mary's, Fairford

St Mary's Church
Fairford

St Mary's, Fairford Angel in Window 1

Services Holy Week and Easter

Jesus enters Jerusalem Window 5

Sunday 17 April, Palm Sunday
The start of Holy Week when we remember Jesus' dramatic entry into Jerusalem
8am Holy Communion (BCP)
Palm Sunday 10am Sung Eucharist
6pm Evensong

Thursday 21st Maundy Thursday
We celebrate The Lord‘s Supper, remembering the meal Jesus and his disciples shared in the upper room and the institution of Holy Communion
10.30am Holy Communion
7pm The Lord's Supper

Friday 22nd Good Friday
2pm Holy Hour
One hour of readings, meditations, prayer and silence, in which we reflect on the events of that day.

Sunday 24th, Easter Sunday
We celebrate the Resurrection with music, flowers, prayers (and champagne at Communion). There is also an Easter Egg Hunt in the churchyard after the service - for the children.
8am Holy Communion (BCP)
10am Easter Eucharist

Compline in Holy Week
Compline will be said at St Mary‘s on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 6pm. This is a short devotional order of service.

Lent

Lent is a time of penitence for the fact that the suffering of the cross was ever necessary – and a time of preparation for the fact that, through the Resurrection, God has transformed death from an end to a beginning: a New Life in Christ; eternal life. But before we celebrate the glory of the Resurrection we need to stand at the foot of the cross, acknowledging our failures and shortcomings.

Traditionally, the penitential nature of Lent has been expressed though fasting, although these days many choose to take on some sort of discipline that will develop and deepen their spiritual life and understanding of faith.

For details of a Lenten Course, Lenten Daily Prayer and Lenten Bible Study, please see the Study and Prayer Page.

Charity of the Month: April

The Jerusalem and The Middle East Church Association (JMECA)
The Jerusalem and The Middle East Church Association         The Jerusalem and The Middle East Church Association

The main objective of this charity is to encourage support in prayer, money and personal service for the religious and other charitable work of the four self governing Dioceses of Jerusalem, Egypt, Iran and Cyprus and the Gulf that together form the Province of the Episcopal (Anglican) Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East.

The churches throughout this vast area within the Province are mostly looked af-ter by indigenous Clergy, as well as schools, hospitals and other foundations; many of them in places where poverty, civil strife and religious problems are com-monplace. Depending on the generosity of donors, and on the interest earned on invested funds in Britain, JMECA and its Standing Committee assist the Province in amounts of up to £250K a year.

To learn more about their work there is a magazine, 'Bible Lands', on the stand along the south wall of the church together with copies of each Diocese in detail. Do have a read and make a donation if you can. If you pay tax, Gift Aid envelopes are available; for further information write to The Secretary The Jerusalem and Middle East Church Association, 1 Hart House, The Hart FARNHAM Surrey GU9 7HJ .Tel:01252 726994. www.jmeca.org.uk.

Previous Charity Fundraising

Monies collected from the box for the January charity ―Biblelands‖ amounted to £19.78 to which the PCC will add further amounts.

The March Charity wasThe Elizabeth Foundation is a national charity working in the field of early diagnosis for profoundly deaf children – from newborn to five year olds - and their families. The average number of families is 50 children attending nursery sessions each year, all being encouraged to lip-read, listen and speak with their hearing aids.

There is literature and more information about the Foundation and its work available in the church or write to The Elizabeth Foundation, Southwick Hill Road, Cosham, Portsmouth, Hants PO6 3LL.; www.elizabeth-foundation.org

Easter Flowers in Church

Every Easter we fill the large copper urn with Madonna lilies in the Church. If you would like to contribute towards the purchase of these lilies a donation would be most welcome and if you would like the name of a loved one in the commemorative frame which we place near the arrangement please let me have the details.

We shall be arranging the flowers for Easter Sunday on Saturday 23rd April. If you have any greenery or flowers you could let us have it would be much appreciated. Please bring to the Church in the morning. Thank you. Heather (712428)

Annual Parochial Church Meeting

The Church AGM will be held in the Farmor Room of the Community Centre on Sunday 10th April 11.30 - 12.30. All welcome. Click for the Annual Report.

Mothers Union

The Wave of Prayer is on Thursday 14th April in St.Mary's Church. Each Diocese has a few days to cover in partnership with our link Diocese somewhere in the World. Gloucestershire Diocese is linked with Democratic Republic of Congo, Ekiti - Nigeria, Ondo - Nigeria, Ekiti-Oke - Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, South India, Gloucester - Canterbury Province. We shall be thinking and praying for these countries together with readings and hymns.

Our time slot is 2-3 p.m. and members are asked to be at church at 1.45 p.m. ready for a prompt start.

Our Lunch will be at The Bridge Restaurant on Wednesday 27th April at 1 p.m. If you wish to go please give your name to a Committee member - by the 17th April.

Messy Space, Sat 16th April

Messy Space

2.00 – 4.00 p.m. Fairford Community Centre

Family Crafts and Coffee Shop

This month: Easter

Adults and Children (recommended 4 years upwards)— £2 per child (max. £5 per family)
A project of Churches Together Around Fairford.

Café Church

Sunday 3rd April 4.00 to 5.30 pm in the United Church, Milton Street.

Please join us and meet friends, do crafts, listen to a story, play games, informal worship, share food.

Open to all - ages 0 to 100+!

For more information contact Joanne Roberts on 07881 903045

Organised by Churches Together Around Fairford with support from an Extended Services Grant from Gloucestershire County Council.

Parish retreat 2nd to 4th September 2011

Our parish retreat is taking place at Nympsfield again this year, a delightful Cotswold village between Tetbury and Stroud. We have been returning here for several years, as the accommodation and facilities are so good, and it is very near to us. We leave Fairford between 4:00-5:00 on the Friday and return after lunch on Sunday. We all have our own rooms; and the cost of all this with excellent home cooking is £96.

This will be a time of quiet reflection and consideration about our devotional lives in our busy timetables. If you would like to join us, please let Joanne Roberts know as soon as possible.

Items for Inclusion in the Parish News

must be submitted by the 10th of each month. It may not be possible to include late items.

The editor of the month reserves the right to use editor’s judgement as to the size and shape etc of articles submitted. Do not worry if you cannot arrange the layout - that’s the editor’s job.

Send an Email to: stmaryspn@gmail.com
or place in envelope clearly marked ‘Parish News’ and take to the Parish office (open 10am—12 noon Mon – Fri) (if the Office is closed) put it through Fairford Community Centre letter box,
or post to Parish News, Parish Office, Fairford Community Centre, High Street, Fairford GL7 4AF (don’t forget the stamp).

News March 2011
News February 2011
News January 2011
News December 2010
News November 2010
News October 2010
News September 2010

Copyright © St Mary's Parochial Church Council 2010-2011